World News - Report: British legislator says killing Blair would be morally justifiable

Maverick British politician George Galloway has claimed it would be "morally justified" for an assassin to target Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he said he was not advocating an attempt, according to a magazine interview published Friday. Galloway was quoted as saying an attack on Blair that caused no other casualties would be a justifiable response to Britain's support for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "It would be entirely logical and explicable — and morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq as Blair did," the monthly GQ magazine quoted Galloway as saying. However, if he knew anyone was planning such an attack, Galloway added, he would tell police. Galloway, currently in Cuba, verified the accuracy of his comments in a statement posted on the website of his political party, Respect. Today its legal to lie and start a war that kills thousands, but to kill the liars that caused so many deaths is illegal??? Justice? ... http://www.usatoday.com

The world could be pushed back to the brink of destruction, as during the height of the cold war, due to the spread of nuclear technology, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has said.Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned that the former US president John F Kennedy's prediction of a world with 20 or 30 countries with nuclear weapons could become a reality.That could mean the return to prominence of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, the belief that international security can be maintained by the threat of nuclear annihilation, Mr ElBaradei told Johns Hopkins University's Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in the USA. "When it comes to nuclear weapons, we are reaching a fork in the road ... Efforts to control the spread of such weapons will only be delaying the inevitable: a world in which each country or group has laid claim to its own nuclear weapon," said Mr ElBaradei....http://www.guardian.co.uk/nuclear/article/0,,1783905,00.html?gusrc=rss

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush have made a stark public acknowledgement that they made mistakes in Iraq. Mr Bush said the biggest US error was the prison abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib, which it was now paying for. The 2 leaders have never admitted their mistakes in such frank terms, the BBC's Jonathan Beale says. They also called for the international community to give its full support to the new Iraqi government. In a Wash news conference, the British prime minister said it was important to Iraq's leaders to know that "we will stand firm with them" against "terrorism and violence". The talks in Washington also focused on Iran, with Mr Bush offering rewards for Tehran if it ends uranium enrichment. Both men have seen their popularity drop and are keen to ensure a positive legacy as their terms draw to a close. Both should be charged with war crimes. If it doesn’t happen then the rule of law is dead and all we have left is the rule of the bigger gun...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5016548.stm

The World Health Organization's 192 member states on Friday committed themselves to promptly report any human cases of bird flu to build defenses against a possible pandemic. New international health regulations, due to come into force for all infectious diseases from June 2007, were brought forward by a year on a voluntary basis for bird flu in light of growing concerns about the fast-spreading virus. Experts fear that the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has already killed 124 people in ten countries, could trigger a global pandemic if it mutates to pass easily between humans. The WHO rules, first agreed upon last year, ask countries to disclose any event "that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern." Previous regulations had covered only cholera, plague, yellow fever and smallpox. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2008236

The Senate yesterday easily approved an immigration bill that allows 10 million illegal aliens to become citizens, doubles the flow of legal immigration each year and will cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $54 billion over the next 10 years. The leaders of both parties hailed the 62-36 passage as a historic success. Majority Leader Bill Frist said the vote represented the "very best" of the Senate. "This is a success for the American people," the Tennessee Republican said. "It is a success for people who hope to participate someday in that American dream." Four Democrats Sens. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan joined 32 of the chamber's 55 Republicans, including several members of the GOP leadership, to vote against the bill. Three of the four Democrats who opposed the bill face voters in November. Opponents said that the Senate is ignoring clear public will and that the bill would have disastrous ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060525-115532-3946r.htm

A powerful bomb exploded Friday in an outdoor market in a majority Shiite part of east Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding 30, police said, as Iraq's prime minister expressed hope two key security posts could be filled within days. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki planned to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki later Friday, a day after the Iraqi leader said he may soon be ready to name the two men who will be charged with carrying out his pledge to take over security for Iraq within 18 months.The initial focus of the effort will be restoring order for the capital's more than 5 million residents, who have suffered the most from suicidal killers, roadside bombs and sectarian death squads....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197097,00.html